Fritz Aichele "The BerryMan"
Donation protected
On Christmas Day, 2015, while many families gathered around their Christmas tree, opening presents and sipping on hot cider, Fritz Aichele, affectionately known as “the Berry Man of Maple Ridge Farm,” lay in a hospital bed in Charleston, SC surrounded by his wife, daughters, grandchildren and siblings. What was originally thought to be a minor issue due to pain and urinating turned into something much more serious.
A few weeks before Christmas, Dad went to his doctor complaining of back pains and trouble urinating. A catheter was put in to help solve the issue but when the symptoms persisted, he was admitted to the hospital where he stayed for several weeks. During his time there, he had stents placed into his ailing kidneys and a biopsy was done on his prostate. Though he had his annual physical in August, the test came back as he and our family feared: it was cancer. Even more devastating was that he was told this type of cancer is one that less than 1% of patients are diagnosed. Doctors immediately jumped in with a plan of action: chemotherapy and radiation, simultaneously.
There are a few rules you must know when you’re around Fritz: don’t speak ill of the Clemson Tigers, especially during a game; surfing season is year-round; and farming isn’t a job, it’s one of his most precious belongings. Other than his family, the farm is his most prized belonging.
In the 1980’s our dad, a third-generation farmer and a Clemson University graduate cultivated Maple Ridge Farm from a dirt field in Canadys, South Carolina into a vibrant fruit farm. Alongside his father, he planted and grew arguably some of the best peaches and berries in the Lowcountry…of course we may be a little biased on that front. They not only grew your standard, Southern fruits, but they led pioneering efforts to introduce once thought to be un-regional fruits such as Asian pears, blackberries and oranges to the area. If you’re a local market lover in the Charleston area, you might just be one of his many, loyal customers at the Charleston farmer’s market at Marion Square; the Mt. Pleasant farmer’s market; or at his U-Pick farm in Canadys.
His passion, as all farmers know, is one that takes an enormous amount of physical labor not just during the fruiting season, but in the off-season as well. Unfortunately, Dad’s condition has halted his ability to work the farm as it needs to be. He and our mom, Sandy, are the sole caretakers of the farm and, other than picking, they do most of the tasks themselves: pruning acres of trees and bushes by hand, fixing miles of irrigation, weeding, spraying, running the U-pick business, and going to the two farmer’s markets is an enormous undertaking. Sadly, many of these things have come to a complete stop while he undergoes his treatments. As one would expect from an active man like him, he’s finding it very difficult to sit back and relax while the farm needs tending.
Adding to the frustration are the medical bills that line the mailbox, coming one after another, with no end in sight: Treatments have just begun and a nurse and physical therapist now visit him weekly to ensure he’s staying on track in between treatments. As a farmer on a fixed income, he and Mom must find a way to pay their living expenses along with a tractor payment…somehow. Though he may be able to sell some fruits this year, it will not be enough to cover the costs of all of his other financial obligations.
Our dad is anxious to beat this cancer so he can get back to “work” on the farm and, occasionally, catch some waves at Folly Beach or Isle of Palms. In the meantime, he has amazing doctors and nurses who are giving him the best care possible, helping to lift his spirits during treatments and who have become a true comfort to of our family.
Please, any help you can give is greatly appreciated by Fritz and our family. May it be monetary and/or prayers, we are grateful.
Much Love,
The Aichele Family
A few weeks before Christmas, Dad went to his doctor complaining of back pains and trouble urinating. A catheter was put in to help solve the issue but when the symptoms persisted, he was admitted to the hospital where he stayed for several weeks. During his time there, he had stents placed into his ailing kidneys and a biopsy was done on his prostate. Though he had his annual physical in August, the test came back as he and our family feared: it was cancer. Even more devastating was that he was told this type of cancer is one that less than 1% of patients are diagnosed. Doctors immediately jumped in with a plan of action: chemotherapy and radiation, simultaneously.
There are a few rules you must know when you’re around Fritz: don’t speak ill of the Clemson Tigers, especially during a game; surfing season is year-round; and farming isn’t a job, it’s one of his most precious belongings. Other than his family, the farm is his most prized belonging.
In the 1980’s our dad, a third-generation farmer and a Clemson University graduate cultivated Maple Ridge Farm from a dirt field in Canadys, South Carolina into a vibrant fruit farm. Alongside his father, he planted and grew arguably some of the best peaches and berries in the Lowcountry…of course we may be a little biased on that front. They not only grew your standard, Southern fruits, but they led pioneering efforts to introduce once thought to be un-regional fruits such as Asian pears, blackberries and oranges to the area. If you’re a local market lover in the Charleston area, you might just be one of his many, loyal customers at the Charleston farmer’s market at Marion Square; the Mt. Pleasant farmer’s market; or at his U-Pick farm in Canadys.
His passion, as all farmers know, is one that takes an enormous amount of physical labor not just during the fruiting season, but in the off-season as well. Unfortunately, Dad’s condition has halted his ability to work the farm as it needs to be. He and our mom, Sandy, are the sole caretakers of the farm and, other than picking, they do most of the tasks themselves: pruning acres of trees and bushes by hand, fixing miles of irrigation, weeding, spraying, running the U-pick business, and going to the two farmer’s markets is an enormous undertaking. Sadly, many of these things have come to a complete stop while he undergoes his treatments. As one would expect from an active man like him, he’s finding it very difficult to sit back and relax while the farm needs tending.
Adding to the frustration are the medical bills that line the mailbox, coming one after another, with no end in sight: Treatments have just begun and a nurse and physical therapist now visit him weekly to ensure he’s staying on track in between treatments. As a farmer on a fixed income, he and Mom must find a way to pay their living expenses along with a tractor payment…somehow. Though he may be able to sell some fruits this year, it will not be enough to cover the costs of all of his other financial obligations.
Our dad is anxious to beat this cancer so he can get back to “work” on the farm and, occasionally, catch some waves at Folly Beach or Isle of Palms. In the meantime, he has amazing doctors and nurses who are giving him the best care possible, helping to lift his spirits during treatments and who have become a true comfort to of our family.
Please, any help you can give is greatly appreciated by Fritz and our family. May it be monetary and/or prayers, we are grateful.
Much Love,
The Aichele Family
Organizer and beneficiary
Christina Aichele Lindsay
Organizer
Fort Mill, SC
Sandy Aichele
Beneficiary